Notable people · Inventor · Business · Founder
Tolbert Lanston
Born in Troy, Lanston invented the Monotype hot-metal typesetting system, patented in 1887, and founded the Monotype company. He won the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1896.
At a glance
- Born
- 1844
- Died
- 1913-02-18
- Known as
- Inventor, Business, Founder
- Organizations
- Lanston Monotype Machine Company
Life story
Tolbert Lanston was born in Troy, Ohio, in 1844 and left school at 15. He served as a volunteer in the Civil War and reached the rank of sergeant.
After 1865 he worked in the U.S. Pension Department in Washington, where he worked with Herman Hollerith on tabulating devices. His brother, a printer, got him interested in automating typesetting, and he resigned to work on it full time.
He patented a mechanical typesetting system in 1887 and developed the first hot-metal typesetter a few years later, using two machines and paper tape. Philadelphia engineer John Sellers Bancroft added a wedge to set character width, and the first commercial machines appeared about 1897. He died in 1913 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Timeline
- 1844: Born in Troy, Ohio (Troy, OH) source
- 1859: Leaves school at 15 source
- 1866: Marries Betty G. Herdel source
- 1887: Patents mechanical typesetting system source
- 1896: Awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal source
- 1897: First commercial Monotype machines (about) source
- 1913-02-18: Dies in Washington, DC (Washington, DC) source
What Tolbert is known for
- Invented the Monotype typesetter (patented 1887)
- Elliott Cresson Medal, 1896
- Monotype typesetting system (patent 1887)
- Lanston Monotype Machine Company
Honors and things named for them
- Elliott Cresson Medal (1896)
Family
- wife: Betty G. Herdel
Ohio places
Where Tolbert Lanston was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Troy, Miami County ZIP 45373 · Troy · Miami County
- Worked: Washington, DC, District of Columbia County
- Buried: Washington, DC (Oak Hill Cemetery), District of Columbia County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Tolbert Lanston birth Troy; left school at 15; Civil War sergeant; Pension Department; Hollerith; Monotype patent 1887; Cresson Medal 1896; death 1913; Oak Hill burial